Wizards' Jordan Poole challenged to 'be himself' entering 2024-25 season

09/30/2024 06:21 PM

While the Washington Wizards’ 2024 draft class has been the major talking point around the team recently, veteran guard Jordan Poole still has three seasons left on his rookie extension. The former Golden State Warrior is considered one of the more talented young players in the league, but he hasn’t always played like it on the Wizards.

Wizards head coach Brian Keefe wants Poole to “go be himself,” and pick up where he left off after last season’s slow start, via Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network.

“He’s had a great career,” Keefe said of Poole. “I just want to remind him that’s who he is.”

Poole shot below 40% from the field in both October and February before getting benched, but improved once his role shifted. The 25-year-old had a blistering 44.6% clip in March and ended the campaign on a five-game April heater, averaging 23.6 points and nine assists.

The benching was a fall from grace for a player who played an important role on Golden State’s 2022 championship squad, but the Michigan alum has plenty of time to rewrite his narrative.

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Poole was traded in July 2023, 10 months after getting sucker-punched by Draymond Green in Warriors training camp. The 2019 first-round pick went from a supporting piece on a perennially contending organization to a big fish on a bottom-five squad, making for a rough adjustment period.

However, forward Corey Kispert claims that Poole is more grounded this time.

Doctor Corey Kispert updates the public on Jordan Poole's blood pressure… #wizards#mediadaypic.twitter.com/GFhIaRaniY

— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) September 30, 2024

“You can just tell his blood pressure’s a lot lower,” Kispert said. “I couldn’t imagine the kind of stuff he was dealing with his first year here. Coming to a brand new team, to a place he’d never been before, you’re asked to do a host of different things, and maybe he didn’t have that role or responsibility with the Warriors.”

“It felt like he was juggling a lot of different stuff, and this year he just feels comfortable, he feels calm, he feels secure in who he is and the kind of player he wants to be for us, and he’s had a year to kick the tires on his role on this team,” Kispert continued. “It feels to me like he’s coming in to be more of a leader.”

With young talents like Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington slated to get significant minutes, this season is about development and long-term planning for the Wizards. If Poole meshes well with that group, he could stick around for good. On the other hand, it will complicate things if the 6-foot-4, 194-pounder starts the season like he did last year.

With new veterans like Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon joining the fold, though, Poole will have more experienced teammates to lean on should trouble arise. Unlike those two however, the Milwaukee native is young enough to enjoy the fruits of Washington’s rebuild in his prime around 2028, should the team retain him.

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